


Change the Course

by Demonized



Category: One Piece
Genre: Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-06 19:51:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3146555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demonized/pseuds/Demonized
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were all gone, taken by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and his subordinates.  They were all gone, but Coby, through a selfless sacrifice, gave him a chance to save them.  All of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Loss

Smoke and ash filled the air, which was tainted by the stench of burning bodies. The smell was absolutely sickening, but it didn't seem to faze Sakazuki or Borsalino in the slightest and he couldn't help but wonder how they could stomach it and the carnage they had created. Marines and Pirates alike fell victim to the attacks the Fleet Admiral and the Admiral made, showing just how far they would go to see _their_ Justice carried out.

"LUFFY!" Nami's scream was piercing as she failed to dodge consecutive attacks from Borsalino and Sakazuki, the latter's magma quickly devouring her.

He fought as ferociously as he was able to, but nothing worked, and it was like their separation all over again, only this time it was absolute. "NAMI! NO!" He tried to make it over to where she had been but Borsalino blocked him with a cruel smile. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"Oh?" Borsalino drawled out, hands in his pockets as he baited the pirate captain. "And ruin all of the fun?"

"MOVE DAMNIT!" He threw out a Jet Pistol at the Admiral, only for it to be easily dodged. A beam of light from Borsalino had him leaping up, only to receive a Haki-imbued kicked to the gut. He landed hard on the ground several feet back and coughed out a bit of blood.

"You bastard!" Zoro tried to get away from Mihawk to aid him, but his former mentor blocked his path and attacked the younger swordsman with his kokuto, Yoru.

"Your fight is with me, Roronoa Zoro." Mihawk's stare was merciless and he took advantage of Zoro's distraction, as well as his blindside, to deal a devastating blow. Yoru easily sliced through his former apprentice's left arm.

Blood sprayed from the wound in copious amounts and the younger swordsman found himself at quite a disadvantage, especially with the rate he was losing his blood. He gripped Wado Ichimonji's hilt with his teeth tighter and switched his hold on Shuusui while his vision began to swim. It was no good, he was dying and Chopper had already perished to Sakazuki's magma. The doctor had been among the first, with Franky, Usopp and then Nami.

"I had such high hopes for you, but you are like all the other insignificant insects I have crushed after all." Mihawk spun out of Shuusui's reach, ducked beneath Wado Ichimonji and twisted slightly to run Zoro through with Yoru. He took in the look of absolute desperation in his former apprentice's eyes, which was quickly followed by sorrow and…success? Mihawk blinked as he felt pain blossoming in his own chest and looked down to find another Shuusui embedded there. _What?_ The _original_ Shuusui and the arm holding it vanished, as if they had been an illusion.

"I'm sorry, Luffy…" Zoro stumbled back, Shuusui released from his grip and Wado Ichimonji falling from his mouth. He slid off of Yoru, which was still in Mihawk's grasp, and fell to the ground where he remained motionless.

"ZORO!" Sanji was the one to yell out his name, but it was to no avail. The swordsman was already dead, and the rest of their Nakama were being slaughtered.

Luffy could only watch as Robin, Brook and Sanji all were overcome by Sakazuki, leaving only a battered Jinbe and himself behind. "No… Everyone… NO!" Tears were running down his cheeks as their bodies vanished, Sakazuki's cruel laugh echoing in his ears. He knelt there, his body trembling and the taste of blood in his mouth, as Borsalino backed away from him and Sakazuki slowly approached.

"No one can save you now, you scum." Sakazuki chortled as he let his right fist turn into molten lava, victory already in his eyes. "Your brothers are dead. Your father is dead. All of your friends are dead, and so is your crew. Nobody will save you now." He flung a bowling ball sized glob of magma at Jinbe, the Fishman having been struggling to get up.

Luffy sobbed as he sensed the life leave the last of his Nakama, his entire world shattered because of this one man. How someone could have so much hatred in them…

"Luffy!"

Arms wrapped around him and a strange look came over Sakazuki's face before pure rage settled onto it. Before the Fleet Admiral could do anything though, a weird feeling came over the pirate and he blinked as everything started to grow distorted. The image of Sakazuki was warping and bending before disappearing completely. In fact, everything around them, the island they had been on, all of it was gone. Everything was dark, pitch black if he could even begin to describe it, but he could still feel the pain of his injuries as well as the arms wrapped around him. "Who?"

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Luffy. I don't have a good grasp on these powers, so I don't know where they'll take us, or when." A familiar voice spoke up softly and the arms tightened slightly. "I think I pulled us out of there too quickly…"

"C-coby?! Is that you Coby?" Luffy struggled to turn around in his Marine friend's grasp, but the hold was too tight on him and for some reason he felt like he wasn't able to move. Something warm and wet was pooling under him, and for once he hoped it wasn't what he thought it was.

"Y-yeah. It's me, Luffy." Coby's voice started to sound weak, just as a forest appeared around them. "I'm really sorry. I wish I could have done more for you. Instead, this is the best I can do."

The arms went slack around him and he could finally move. Turning around, Luffy's gaze widened as he took in the sight of the first friend he had made on the seas. Bile threatened to come up as he looked down at where Coby's legs should be, instead they were missing. Everything from the Marine's navel down were missing, leaving his entrails and organs to spill out. "Coby! No! Coby!" His tears fell faster as he gathered what remained of his friend into his arms, holding him close.

"I'm really glad I met you, Luffy. You're my best friend." Coby smiled, though his expression was pained, then closed his eyes and slipped away.

"COBY!"

-CtC-

Hours passed before he finally moved, his friend cold and stiff with rigor mortis, and began mindlessly digging a hole with his hands. That took him several hours more, his pace never once slowing down, until the hole was large enough and deep enough.

Ever so gently, he wrapped Coby's body up in the coat he had worn and carried him down into the grave. Luffy placed him down with care then took the worn straw hat that Shanks had given to him and placed it on his friend's chest. "You deserve this more than I do, Coby." With that he climbed out of the hole and began filling it back up. Once the grave was filled, he found a large stone that was suitable and placed it at the head of the grave to mark it.

With that taken care of, he knelt there for a few minutes, his hand on top of the stone and his head bowed. "I don't know what you did, or where I am, but I won't let your death or theirs' be in vain." His words were spoken in a low tone, his hand balling into a fist. "I'll make sure that **bastard** pays, for everything."

Luffy stood up and finally took in his surroundings, the area seeming familiar to him. Blinking, he frowned and wandered through the forest. It was starting to grow dark, but it didn't matter any as he came out upon a familiar path. Walking along the path, he stared at an all too familiar village in the distance. _Fuusha… It's Fuusha._ So that took care of the where. He was confused by what Coby had meant when he had said when though. _When…_ What could that possibly mean?

Walking down to the village, he frowned as he noticed a kid skulking near the perimeter. The kid had wild black hair and wore a white shirt and blue shorts. That was all he could make out from observing the kid's back. "Oi. You there," he called out, and the kid jumped slightly.

"H-hai?" The kid turned around, tears in his eyes and snot dripping from his nose which he tried to rub away.

Luffy had opened his mouth, a question poised on the tip of his tongue, which instead died away at the sight of his younger self. The kid blinked and stared up at him, confusion, fear and increasing worry on his face. The older Luffy blinked and looked down at himself. He was a dirty, bloody mess and more than likely looked a fright. "I won't hurt you. I promise," he stated softly and knelt down.

"You won't hurt me?" The child's eyes were large and pleading, but he remained wary and kept his distance. He rubbed at his nose again, sniffling as more snot dripped out.

"I won't." Luffy held both hands palms up to show that he was unarmed, though in reality his hands were his weapons. "What are you doing out here?"

The kid shifted around nervously, his head bowing as he mumbled out an answer.

Luffy blinked and then frowned, trying to wrack his brain to locate this particular memory. He didn't recall ever meeting anyone outside of Fuusha, especially not himself, but he was obviously in the past. Or was he? "I didn't catch that."

The younger Luffy flushed a little and looked up at him, hands now hidden behind his back. "I was running away so my Grandpa couldn't find me."

Ah… It was that time. Nope. Definitely hadn't met himself, or anyone else. Well, apart from Makino, who had come looking for him.

"Luffy!" Speak of the devil.

Thinking quickly, he held a finger up to his lips then leapt up onto the roof of the closest house. The kid stared after him in awe before running off towards Makino. Sighing, he followed via the rooftops and watched as his old caregiver scolded the younger Luffy before wiping his face clean and ushering him into her home.

-CtC-

He waited until Makino had gone to sleep before he snuck into her home. It was relatively easy, since he still knew the place like the back of his hand, and locating the kid was even easier. _He_ was still awake, sitting patiently on his bed with his legs dangling over the side.

"Who are you?" The younger Luffy questioned, his voice soft.

He frowned, unsure of what he should tell his younger self, if anything at all. Saying nothing would undoubtedly leave things to play out as they had from the time he was from. He couldn't go through that all over again, and he certainly didn't want Coby sacrificing himself again either with whatever strange power he had acquired. _Most likely a devil fruit power._ And he was in the past, so it was one that could manipulate time. "I'm you, from the future."

Younger Luffy blinked at him then took in his appearance again. Blood-stained, dirty and scarred, yet the resemblance was there. Stars immediately appeared in his eyes and he jumped down from the bed to come closer. "Really!"

"Shh! Makino-san is asleep." The pirate whispered before nodding. He smiled faintly, sadness in his eyes, as the child covered his mouth and flushed in embarrassment.

"Sorry," the boy mumbled from behind his hands, then slowly let them drop. "What happened?"

"I…" The pirate paused and looked away, unable to tell his younger self what he had gone through earlier that day. "A lot of bad stuff."

The younger Luffy blinked then cocked his head to one side. "Is that why you came back? To keep the bad stuff from happening?" He moved closer, no longer afraid of his older self.

"I… Yes. I want to keep the bad stuff from happening." _All of it._ He added silently to himself. Looking back to the kid, he was surprised to find him so close, close enough that they bumped heads. As soon as they made contact with each other everything went dark for the both of them.


	2. Hope

If Luffy were ever asked to describe his life in one word, and now that he certainly had the _time_ to think about it, he would answer that his life was _chaotic_. He was that himself, but that was far beside the point. Another such word, one that his Nakama would likely choose, would be _unpredictable_. Both were succinct in describing himself and his life, of which he hadn't had a problem with. That had been before Akainu, who-in the past (future?)-had shown that even the unpredictable wasn't completely without prediction. He had cared for all of his Nakama quite dearly, and it was that which Akainu had used against him. That was in the past now, even if it had yet to happen, and now he would do his best to prevent any of it from happening. Hell, if he could prevent a lot of it then he would. As things currently were, he didn't see how anything was going to go in his favor.

Being stuck in the body of a five year old, his older body nowhere to be found, and unable to use even a quarter of his hard-earned abilities decidedly took a toll on his adult conscience. He had all three forms of Haki at his disposal, though to a lesser degree, which at the very least could be resolved by training. Second and Third Gear were absolute non-starts in his book, what with the damage they (mostly Second Gear itself) did to his body. It wouldn't be until after he completed his training (once again) for his Haki before he could comfortably use the Gears. As for his devil fruit ability… Well, strangely enough, he still had that, even though he had yet to meet Shanks and his crew. That was something he looked forward to, especially since he could prevent the loss of the man's arm. Hopefully.

First and foremost, since meeting Shanks was two years (at most) away, he decided to make the trip up to Dadan's on Mount Colubo. By himself.

He knew the path by heart, and though he felt a little guilt for sneaking away from Makino (he did leave a non-descriptive note) it didn't last, excitement taking over at the prospect of seeing Ace! The thought that Ace wouldn't know who he was, or very much care, didn't cross his mind as he practically ran the entire way without pause.

Luffy was barely breathing hard by the time he arrived at Dadan's bandit hideout. He could sense a multitude of people inside, and though he didn't recognize their voices he burst into the familiar house to a familiar sight of everyone fighting over food. Everyone paused in shock and stared at him, his entrance (yet alone his very presence) a complete surprise and totally unexpected. Cracking a grin that look suffused with happiness, despite it not quite reaching his eyes, he walked closer to the group surrounding the fire pit.

"Who the hell are you?" Dadan snarled as she stood up, making it apparent that she did not like the intrusion into her home. That he was a child, a rather young one at that, didn't make any difference.

Luffy turned his attention to the burly woman, not at all bothered by her tone or her question. They didn't know him, as he was two years early arriving here, and without his grandfather for that matter. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy!"

Dadan seemed to give a pause at this, her expression morphing into one of confusion and shock, as she was incredibly familiar with the Monkey surname. Too familiar with it. She looked over, swallowed nervously and tentatively asked the question that was poised on the tip of her tongue. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Monkey D. Garp, would you?"

Luffy grinned wide at the mention of his grandfather and nodded, noting that a look of despair seemed to quickly replace anything else on Dadan's face. Even the bandits working under her seemed to share her sentiments. "I'm just visiting for now. I wanted to meet Ace-san!"

Aside from the crackling of the flames from within the fire pit it was so quiet in the room that they would have been able to hear a pin drop. Everyone, including Dadan, looked from Luffy to a figure sitting off to the side of the gathered bandits, his share of the meal far larger than theirs. He was a child, only three years older than Luffy's current body, and was glaring towards the young time-traveler. "I don't know you. What the hell do you want?"

Luffy wasn't even remotely fazed by Ace's harsh attitude. He had expected the future flame fruit user to be like this, though thankfully it was without him being spat on. Instead, he gave a wide grin as he happily chirped, "I just wanted to see Ace-san!" He also wanted to see Sabo. Was the blond living in Gray Terminal by this point? He wasn't sure… Realizing that everyone was staring at him, and Ace's expression going from pissed off to shocked, Luffy blinked slowly. "What?" Unfortunately for Luffy, or fortunately in the case of Ace, he had said **all** of that aloud which he hadn't even noticed.

The adults (more so Dadan than her underlings) were confused over who Sabo was and why Luffy seemed to be interested about him living in Gray Terminal. Dadan even showed a smidgen of concern.

Ace, however, had been rendered speechless. He opened and closed his mouth several times, the color drained from his face. No one, not even Dadan and her bandits, knew about Sabo and Gray Terminal. It had been a recent occurrence in his wanderings away from the mountain bandits and he had come across the blond only a few months ago. They had hit it off and even set out to accumulate as much treasure as they could to buy a ship for themselves to leave this godforsaken island. There was no telling what else this strange kid knew.

Luffy, unaware of his external musings, just shook his head at receiving no answer from the bandits or Ace and turned his attention to the food that laid forgotten. His stomach gave a miserable gurgle and his mouth positively watered. He felt like he was positively starving, even though he had eaten a large breakfast at Makino's a mere hour and a half ago. The thought to ask if he could have anything didn't cross his mind as he literally jumped upon the food and began devouring it.

It took a full twenty seconds for everyone to react to this strange child, to them at least, and they all tried to attack him. _Tried_ being the key word. The kid was incredibly nimble, dodging every single attack they sent his way. Even Ace was unsuccessful, and all of the adults in that room knew how ridiculously badass the eight year old was. That he was being outdone by an obviously younger kid was quite a shocker to them, though this only made Ace try even harder. This all went on for several minutes, after which all of the adults were breathing heavily, most flopped over onto the floor while Dadan was laid out on her back gazing up at the ceiling.

Luffy grinned widely as he finished off the last of the food and simultaneously dodged a kick aimed at his side from Ace who was the only one who was still attacking him. The future flame fruit user paused momentarily, a gleam in his eyes as he stared at the elusive five year old with an expression akin to grudging admiration. "Thank you for the food, Dadan!" he cheerfully chirped, giving a bow to the downed woman. He turned to Ace who quickly schooled his face into a scowl, at which Luffy only smiled even brighter. "Ne, Ace! Let's go play!" He wanted to spend time with his not-yet-a-brother and was too impatient to wait for things to go how they had the last time for him. He didn't know anything about time travel, and he certainly wasn't thinking about the consequences of changing how things happened.

Ace, for his part, stared at the kid with a slightly shocked expression, his mouth partially open. The thought to say no crossed his mind, but instead he stated "Sure." As it registered that he had just agreed to go play with the brat he decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad. The kid was able to dodge well enough so it would be good for training. Watching as the kid pumped his arms into the air before he shot out of the house Ace gave a slight shake of his head then followed after him. "Hey!"

Luffy had made it to the edge of the trees surrounding Dadan's home by the time Ace got outside and the young rubber boy stopped where he was to give Ace another bright smile. "Hai?"

Ace looked unsure for a moment, and it was obvious that he wanted to ask something. He finally followed him over to the edge of the surrounding forest, determination in his gaze. "How do you know who I am?"

"Cause you're Ace-nii-chan!" Luffy stated it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. He was just so excited in seeing his brother alive again.

"Brat, that doesn't answer my question," Ace muttered and gave a slight shake of his head. The eight year old sighed when it was clear that he wouldn't be receiving a plausible answer to his question. "Nii-chan, huh?" For some reason it felt right and he allowed a faint smile to briefly grace his lips.

"Hai!" Luffy tackle-glomp-hugged Ace, which drew a protest from the older boy.

If Ace wasn't doing much of anything to get Luffy to let go of him neither of the boys said anything, and if he even returned the hug, albeit a bit awkwardly, that only made the rubbery boy smile even more.


	3. Brothers

The way to Gray Terminal was exactly how Luffy remembered it to be, despite how long it had technically been for him. It didn't occur to him that he wasn't supposed to know all of this, or if it did then he wasn't thinking about it. Ace was trailing behind him, staring at his back in wide-eyed wonder. He could feel his not-a-brother-but-still-kind-of-is' gaze, and it was actually a comforting thing.

"You said your name was Luffy, right?" Ace questioned him, finally, drawing them to a brief halt.

They were on the bridge over the canyon, the very one that the Ace of his past and childhood had knocked him into to keep him from following the boy to Gray Terminal. Luffy turned to the new-but-still-the-same-Ace and gave him a brilliant smile. "That's my name, and Ace is Ace."

Ace blinked a bit then shook his head, a slight frown marring his face. "How do you know me, Luffy?"

Luffy himself blinked and let the question process. "I grew up with Ace before," he answered after a long moment. "A long, long time ago."

_That_ made no sense whatsoever. Ace took the opportunity to scowl and cross his arms over his chest. "I don't know you, Luffy, and this is the first time I've met you."

Luffy went completely still at that, his smile replaced by a look of shocked realization. Of course this Ace wouldn't know him, but he knew Ace. He knew Ace very well. "I… I did grow up with Ace." But that Ace was dead. Killed by the same bastard who had killed his Nakama, his only other brother Sabo, as well as his father Dragon. "I won't let Ace-nii-chan die again."

"I don't… Wait, what? Die? Again?" What the hell was this kid talking about? Ace was positive that he didn't know him at all, but Luffy was so sincere, and it seemed like he would be such a terrible liar so he had to be telling the truth.

There were big fat tears in Luffy's eyes as he recalled that day with perfect clarity. The feel of his older brother's overly warm body cooling, the smell of burned flesh and the pooling blood from the hole in his chest. He could remember the stinging heat of Sakazuki's magma, and the sound of the bead necklace that Dadan had given to Ace as the string tore and the beads scattered on the ground. Ace's final words that were barely audible.

"H-hey…" Ace hadn't meant to make Luffy cry, but whatever the cause of the boy's tears was a very real source. He wasn't prepared for the kid to launch himself at him, and nearly stumbled backwards. He wrapped an arm around Luffy while he clung to one of the ropes that help suspend the bridge over the canyon. The bridge swayed a little and strongly reminded him that they needed to be careful while crossing it, and that upsetting a five-year-old on it was the last thing he wanted to do. "I'm not dead, Luffy. I'm right here," Ace murmured in an attempt to calm Luffy down. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, but seeing the five year old so upset over someone he had seemed to truly care for made him feel uneasy.

"I won't let Ace-nii-chan die again," Luffy hiccupped out stubbornly, his face partially buried in the eight year old Ace's shirt.

"I'm not gonna die," Ace muttered and lightly rubbed at Luffy's back.

"Ace… Ace said that last time." Luffy sniffled and looked up at the eight year old, his eyes still very much watery. "You… He promised that he wouldn't die."

Ace opened his mouth to respond but his mind blanked and he couldn't think of anything to say. Luffy's claim that his Ace had died, that he was that Ace—which didn't make sense to him to start with—and had promised not to die was throwing him for quite a loop. More than just a loop. The news that he would one day die, even though it was a logical conclusion, didn't sit well with him. Worriedly looking down at the canyon they were swaying over, he swallowed a bit in fear. "Let's get off of this bridge, Luffy."

Luffy didn't move for a few seconds, then slowly let go of Ace—his shirt wet where Luffy's face had been pressed to it—and crossed the remainder of the bridge while he wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Ace blinked, incredulously and a little confused at the sudden apology. "What for?"

"I got your shirt wet, and you always hated it when I cried." Luffy stopped all of a sudden now that they were off of the bridge and sat down on the ground.

The eight year old sat down next to Luffy, a thoughtful frown on his face. "I don't care about my shirt, and you can cry over important stuff. What… What you were talking about was important." And he hadn't wanted to know all of that, but there was no changing that. It was hardly believable, but the kid was weird, could stretch and was certainly telling the truth. Someone close to him, named Ace, had died. "Where are you from, Luffy?"

"The future," Luffy answered without hesitation, and obviously any thought. He was looking down at his lap, so he didn't notice that gob-smacked disbelief that was now etched onto Ace's face. "I was a lot older… about twenty years old. Me and my Nakama were on our way to Raftel in the New World when…" He paused here, more furious tears springing to his eyes that blurred his vision. "When Sakazuki and Borsalino came out of nowhere and attacked us. He taunted us, both of them did, and started attacking. We didn't stand a chance against them. He told me that he had killed Sabo and my dad right after they finished killing nearly everyone in my crew. He killed Jinbe last…and that was when Coby saved me. He brought me here to the past with a devil fruit power, but he didn't have control over it and he died because of it."

Ace sat there and listened to Luffy's story, once again unsure of what to say and at this point he was even unsure of what to do. A solid look at the five year old, who claimed he had been twenty—which was old when he thought about it—revealed that he was trembling, his hands fisted into the material of the shorts he wore. He knew what he had to do then, and he quickly scooted over to Luffy and wrapped an arm around the boy in an attempt to comfort him. "He killed Sabo?" he asked in a whisper, hoping that it was a lie, because he had seen the blond yesterday.

"The Sabo from my time, yes." Luffy sniffled and leaned into Ace. "He killed Ace-nii-chan when I was seventeen… I was too weak to save Ace then and I was too weak to save everyone else too," the five year old confessed.

Ace swallowed down the fear that had been building and while he wanted to sigh in relief—because his own Sabo was safe—there was nothing to be relieved about if what Luffy said was true. That it was, he had no doubts about. The kid was exceedingly honest, and such a story couldn't have been made up or even a nightmare. "We're not dead. None of us are. We can change that, right?"

Luffy glanced up at Ace and stared, his eyes wide. After a moment he nodded, because he was there in the past. He remembered everything, and would train even harder. "We can get stronger," he whispered. They had an advantage, because he remembered everything, even right down to the Haki training he had done with Rayleigh.

Ace smiled faintly when he saw that Luffy's tears had stopped and something akin to hope appeared in his eyes. "Let's go get Sabo then." The blond would definitely take some convincing.

-CtC-

"No. Absolutely not. How could you even believe something like that?!" Sabo shouted, protectively clutching a crudely made pipe staff as he stared at Ace and the strange kid he had brought. "You let yourself get taken in by a five year old, Ace. A freaking five year old!"

Luffy stood there behind Ace, peeking out at Sabo who had taken his explanations not so well. His lower lip trembled a little, because he had hoped that Sabo would come with them.

"He's telling the truth, Sabo!" Ace stood his ground, and even though he was unarmed versus Sabo's staff he had taken up a defensive position. It was hard for him to go against Sabo, but he truly trusted Luffy and believed him. The kid had proven himself by knowing things he wasn't supposed to know about Ace. Namely the fact that he knew who Ace's father was. Surely there were things he knew about Sabo. "Luffy, what do you know about Sabo that he hasn't ever told us?"

Luffy blinked at that, glancing up at Ace then looking back to Sabo. After a few seconds his gaze immediately shifted to the walled off city where the Nobles of Dawn Island lived. "His father's a noble, but he told us that after his father spotted us running away from a ramen shop in there."

Sabo's mouth dropped open while Ace stared at him fixedly, unable to believe what he had just heard. He had never, ever revealed his shameful heritage to anyone. "He has to be a spy! You were spying on me!"

"When was that? When he was a baby?! He knows things he shouldn't know Sabo, and I've never seen him before today! He knows who my father is!" Ace didn't even care that Sabo was a Noble. It seemed like something he truly hated, and he could understand that.

"Sabo hates that he was born a Noble. He also wants to be a navigator," Luffy helpfully supplied.

The blond stared at them, any argument he had dying on his tongue. He couldn't refute that he had never seen Luffy before, and the whole spy accusation didn't fit. How Luffy seemed to know everything about him, about them… Was he truly from the future? Would he and Ace really die? "So it's all true?" His heart was dropping. He didn't want to think about dying, not when he was in a place that was already like hell. It was a struggle to not get caught out here in Gray Terminal.

"All of it," Ace answered, his tone even and firm. He started to relax, just a little, since it seemed like Sabo was coming around. "How many Sabos do you know of that are blond, dress like that and ran away from being a Noble?"

"Just me…" Sabo's gaze focused on Luffy, who had started to smile. It was a contagious thing, because he started to smile too.

"See, you can't resist him either." Ace gave a relieved smile and hooked Luffy around the neck to bring him to his side. "This squirt says he can show us a lot of cool stuff. Something called Haki."

"I remember everything Rayleigh taught me!" It had been tough, of course, but Luffy was sure that both Ace and Sabo would have little trouble learning it once they awakened to it. The only issue would be getting it to awaken within them. "Ne! Let's go to Fuusha and see Makino-san! She's probably worried about me!"

"Fuusha?" Sabo and Ace asked together, looking at each other in a perplexed manner.

-CtC-

Luffy's return to Fuusha, with two older boys in tow, received quite a few reactions. Makino, of course, was beside herself in anger that Luffy had gone off, especially since they hadn't appeared until dinner time. He had been missing almost all day and she had very nearly sent a letter to Garp. Now that he was back, safe and sound, she took one look at that dirty, smiling face and melted.

Woop Slap, however, was a bit bitter, because they had sent people out to look for Luffy. A glare from Makino prevented him from saying anything, but he was most certainly going to send out a letter of his own to Garp.

"Who are these two young men, Luffy?" Makino asked as she set out two more plates since it seemed like the newcomers would be staying with them. She didn't mind, because Luffy needed children his age to play with, and the children of the village were generally kept away from him. It came from the stigma of who Luffy's grandfather was, unfortunately.

"Ace-nii-chan and Sabo-nii-chan," Luffy happily chirped and started to climb onto his usual chair at the table.

"Luffy," Makino said in a sharp tone, eying the little boy. "You need to go wash up first. All three of you need to wash up," she added, giving them a critical glance over.

"Y-yes, Makino-san." Luffy immediately scurried away to the bathroom so he could wash up, Ace and Sabo following him.

"Oh how adorable," she finally gushed once they were out of the room, and she finished setting up the table. "He's calling them his brothers." They would most definitely be good for Luffy, because he was a lonely child.


	4. Fist of Love

In the weeks following Luffy's sudden but welcome intrusion upon their lives, both Sabo and Ace found a home with Makino, more so than at Dadan's (for Ace) and amongst the rubbish heaps of Gray Terminal (for Sabo). It was something of a relief for them, to not have to worry about the dangers of Gray Terminal when trying to scrounge up something of interest for any amount of Beries they could get their hands on. Instead, they did simple odd jobs around Fuusha, much to the amusement of many of the villagers living there, who occasionally chipped in a little extra for the hard efforts the trio made. It was a slower, but steadier flow of money, and none of them minded. The only person still sour about them, and Luffy, was Woop Slap.

Wiping some sweat off of his brow, Ace straightened up from the rather tidy stack of firewood he had been making. Next to his stack was Luffy's rather sloppy effort, but it would hold. With a glance over his shoulder at Sabo, who was manning the axe for this job, he grinned and gave him a thumbs up. "We're all done, Sabo. Let's go get our payment then head back over to Makino-san's." The coveralls that Makino had made for them to do their work in were surprisingly dirty. That was Luffy's fault of course, but that was just him turning their work into a form of training.

"I could use some of Makino-san's cooking," Sabo commented, returning the axe to the tool shed before joining Luffy and Ace on the back stoop. Luffy was already knocking on the door, a smile splitting his face in half.

The villager who had given them the job, a gentleman in his elder years, opened up the door and took in the sweaty, messy boys. His gaze roamed over to the two stacks of wood, one neat and the other a little messy, then he smiled and pulled out his money purse. "What a fine job you three have done." He handed them a little extra, followed up by a cold bottle of cola for each of them. "Thank you so much for your help."

"You're welcome Odachi-san. Thank you for the work!" Ace and Sabo chimed in together, while Luffy had already opened his bottle of cola and was drinking it down.

"Take care now," Mr. Odachi said with a smile before ushering them off of his stoop and closing the door.

Sabo carefully counted the money and grinned, adding the total to what they already had stashed away, now moved to between Fuusha and Dadan's at Luffy's urging. "This is much better than digging through scraps at Gray Terminal," the blond voiced as he pocketed the money for the time being, and opened up his own bottle of cola.

"And Makino-san is really nice," Ace commented while he watched Luffy literally bounce ahead of them. It probably hadn't been the best of ideas to let Luffy have a whole bottle of cola to himself, but the five-year-old was easily able to outmaneuver the both of them. They had complained about it only once before and the expression Luffy had given them sent chills down their backs whenever they recalled it. _"I will not watch you die again,"_ he had said, looking directly at Ace with an expression that was far too serious for the exuberant five-year-old they had come to know. It was sometimes hard to remember that despite his physical age, Luffy technically was older mentally. He certainly didn't act it.

Luffy disappeared into Makino's house just ahead of them, but within seconds darted back out and was running towards them. "RUN!" He yelled at them as he passed them by, leaving them a little confused. They blinked and looked at each other, then at Makino's house. For a second it seemed like there was nothing wrong, then a wall exploded. They didn't wait to see what came out of the wall. Sabo and Ace dropped their drinks and turned to run after Luffy, who was already way ahead of them.

-CtC-

He knew it was horrible to not wait for them to catch up, but he had his reasons. Sabo had been the first to get caught, just outside of Fuusha. It wasn't really the blond's fault, per se, but he was exhausted from chopping wood for the better part of the afternoon. While his training for them was paying off, they were still in the beginning stages where exhaustion came easily.

Ace was caught next, and the older brunet being present had given him a bit more time to run and hide. Logically he knew there was no such thing as running and hiding, not from…

WHUMP!

CRRRAAAACCCCKKKK!

The tree Luffy had scaled to the top quickly became unsteady and began to fall. "AHHHGGG!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, clinging to the treetop for dear life.

THUD!

Luffy screwed his eyes shut and waited for the inevitable pain that always accompanied one of his grandfather's visits. After several seconds of silence, the young rubber-boy opened his eyes a sliver and hesitantly lifted his head to look around. Ace and Sabo were standing over him, each with a somber expression on their faces. A cracking noise sounded behind Luffy and he could hear the foliage of the tree shifting as someone approached him.

Just before a loud whoosh filled his ears, indicating that a fist was heading for his head, Luffy remembered that Garp was able to use Haki: Busoshoku. Making a split second decision, that was most likely going to haunt him for the rest of his life (at least while Garp continued to breathe), he rolled out of the way of his grandfather's punch, which happened to shatter the thin tree top that had been under him.

"Uwah! Are you trying to kill me?!" Luffy cried out once he caught sight of the shattered tree top. He ducked behind his brothers faster than anyone else could react, and even caught the narrowing of his Grandfather's eyes, despite the action being very minute. Peeking out at Garp from behind Ace, Luffy made sure to keep a firm grasp on the back of the older brunet's shirt. He ignored Ace's immediate protest and stared up at his Grandfather.

While Garp would have normally made another attack, despite Luffy using Ace as a shield, the Vice Admiral had paused at the expert dodge his grandson had used to evade his punch. Not that it was even expert. Luffy had used pure speed, speed that he shouldn't have at five years old or anywhere close to his age. There had also been a touch of something else, which niggled at the back of his mind, but he pushed it aside for the time being. "I see you've been doing some training, Luffy, and heading out of Fuusha on your own," he commented, his gaze sliding over each of the boys. It had been a surprise to see Ace down in Fuusha, and with the way that his Grandson was clinging to the back of the boy's shirt he figured that Luffy had something to do with it.

It was such a perfect opportunity to cover up his use of the speed he had been training his body to be able to handle again that he nearly missed the glint in Garp's eyes. The old man was suspicious. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," Luffy stammered out, looking away from his Grandfather.

_What a terrible liar,_ Ace and Sabo thought together, the blond edging away from the two brunets and certain pain, while Ace tried to tug his shirt out of Luffy's grasp.

"Oh?" A sort of dark aura seemed to surround Garp and his cracked his knuckles in a threatening manner.

Ace's tugging became a little more desperate while Sabo outright fled, or at least attempted to. Garp was suddenly blocking his way, having decided that all three boys, even if he was unfamiliar with the blond boy, were in on it together.

-CtC-

"Owww…" Luffy groaned out, rubbing at the sizeable lump on the back of his head. Two small fists immediately smashed into said lump, sending another lance of pain through his body, though it was incomparable to the pain of the single blow that Garp had managed to land on him while using Soru.

"Shut up, idiot. It's your fault 'cause you chose to run," Ace grumbled as he and Sabo went back to nursing the half dozen lumps each were sporting on their heads.

They were all still out in the forests between Fuusha and Dadan's mountain bandit home, Garp having temporarily left them to go and fetch some firewood. They didn't dare slip off since the old Marine proved that he could track them down regardless of where they went, and that was without the use of Kenbunshoku. He had an uncanny sense of where they were.

"I only ran 'cause I knew he would hit me," Luffy pouted and laid out on the ground. He craned his neck to look at his brothers, even if his view of them was upside down. "And he still got me," the five-year-old muttered. It was a little unfair that his Grandfather had used Soru, but it was completely expected of Garp to do something like that. At least that opened up an avenue for him to question his Grandfather and ask him to teach him the technique. Hopefully he could also get him to teach him the rest of the Rokushiki techniques.

There came a rustling from the surrounding forest, followed by the cracking of branches being stepped on. All three boys unconsciously tensed as Garp appeared with a whole tree over one shoulder, that was at least a few feet wide, and a large tiger slung over the other one. "I came across dinner while I was out looking for firewood."

Luffy's stomach grumbled at the mention of dinner, and it was quickly followed by Ace's and Sabo's stomachs as well. The youngest of them, however, ignored his stomach and instead sat up to give his Grandfather a serious expression. "Ne, Ojii-chan, what is that superfast move you used called?"

"Hm?" Garp tossed the tiger corpse then proceeded to stand the tree up so he could punch it into suitable pieces for firewood with his fists. He glanced at Luffy for a moment, taking in the look his Grandson was giving him, before he began to pulverize the tree. "It's a special technique that only strong Marines are taught, along with a few others. It's called Soru."

Luffy could hardly believe that Garp was telling him about the Rokushiki techniques, or that he was even mentioning it in front of Ace and Sabo. This was more than perfect, and he could only wonder at why Garp would be willing to reveal such coveted information. The Rokushiki techniques were not even known by the majority of the Marines that patrolled the four Blue Seas. It was uncommon for Marines to know them in Paradise, but in the New World… It seemed like a vast majority of the Marines in the New World knew the Rokushiki techniques. "Soru?" He said it slowly, his eyes purposefully large as he stared up at his Grandfather. "Ne, Ojii-chan. Could you teach us to do Soru?"

Garp paused in his task of making firewood with a splutter, a stricken look on his face as he turned to answer Luffy. He also took in the sight of Ace and Sabo, who looked confused about this line of conversation but also interested in what his answer would be. They also looked a bit hopeful. Normally, he would have never used Soru to catch up to his Grandson, so he wouldn't have been put into this position. Still, the boy had been unusually quick on his feet. "I suppose I could… But none of you have the proper training so that your bodies can handle Soru, or any of the other techniques." He was wary of teaching them any of the Rokushiki, especially since he didn't know Sabo, and only had a vague relationship with both Ace and Luffy. None of that hardly mattered, because he hadn't questioned Ace's presence in Fuusha, nor did he need to know the blond boy's identity. That they were apparently fast friends with Luffy was more than enough for him to accept their presence.

"Then could you train us?" Surprisingly the question came from Ace, whose expression became determined. "Could you teach us to use that Soru, and the other techniques?"

Garp knew that it wasn't easy for Ace growing up here, even in the far corner of East Blue. The hatred directed towards the child's father was commonplace, and he knew that the boy occasionally wandered out from the safety of Dadan's mountain hideout thanks to the annual reports he had the woman send him. "You boys will need to work hard. Learning these techniques will not be easy, at all, and it usually takes years for them to be mastered. I won't tolerate any slacking, from any of you." He had wanted to give an overblown speech about how they should also join the Marines, but they were young, and he had plenty of time to convince them.

"Yosh!" Luffy cried out, pumping his fists into the air. His celebratory mood quickly halted however, as his stomach gave another loud, plaintive growl and he gave a groan as he put a hand over the rumbling organ. "Can we eat yet?"


	5. Garp's Training Program from Hell

Luffy screwed his eyes shut against the near agonizing pain that radiated through every cell in his body. He was even certain that his hair hurt. Laid out next to him, and in similar but worse states, were Sabo and Ace. They both gave pain-filled groans and he could hear them trying to move. It was to no avail, however, and the rustling stopped with slight whimpers from both of them.

"Luffy, I'm gonna kick your ass once I can move again." Ace's voice was hoarse and weak.

"You'd have to catch him first, Ace." Sabo sounded no better either.

They should have listened when he had told them that yelling and screaming was rather pointless when dealing with Garp. "This is only the first day." He reopened his eyes and stared up at the sky, a slight grin on his face. "It'll get easier once we become accustomed to the training."

"Either that or we die in the process," Ace muttered sullenly.

Luffy just grinned then shifted slowly to sit up. Every part of him hurt, but he was used to physical pain. It was the pain of the heart that he had trouble with. "Ace-nii-chan and Sabo-nii-chan are super strong!"

"I certainly don't feel super strong, let alone just strong." Sabo attempted to sit up himself, but seemed to flop back to the ground almost bonelessly. "How are you still moving, Luffy?"

"It's a mystery," Luffy sing-songed, though he knew all too well that it was mostly in part that his older mind could handle the pain. Sabo and Ace also knew this, but because Garp was around they had to put on a show for the old man. Speaking of Garp, the Vice Admiral was on his way back into the forest. He'd gone back to Fuusha to check in with Makino once it had been obvious that the boys weren't capable of moving. Luffy flopped back down and stayed there, his expression mimicking Sabo and Ace's.

"Well now, boys, you've had a nice break. Time for the next phase of your training," Garp boomed as he re-entered the clearing he had left the boys in. He stopped and frowned when none of the boys moved, eying them almost suspiciously.

"We can't move," Ace grouched, leaving out the fact that Luffy had been able to sit up. Were Garp to know about that there was no doubt in the brunet's mind that the Vice Admiral would assume that all of them could move.

"Oh? Is that so?" There was a terrifying note of certainty in Garp's voice. "And here I was going to reward you boys with all the meat you could eat."

Luffy twitched at the mention of his absolute favorite food, the action not going unnoticed by Garp. He laid there for all of three seconds, which gave his grandfather enough time to dart over to where the three of them were laid out. Luffy sprung to his feet and and ran full steam in the direction his grandfather had come from.

Terrified yelps came from both Ace and Sabo, who were still unable to move, as Garp's fist impacted the ground scant inches from where their heads were. It left a miniature crater, which was certainly enough motivation to get them on their feet and running after Luffy.

Garp didn't move, except to turn and look in their direction with a grin that the boys would have described as evil. "Works every time," the Vice Amiral chuckled to himself and brushed the dirt off of his fist.

-CtC-

Ace skillfully dodged another of Garp's dangerous and painful punches then zipped under the man's legs using a weak Soru. They had been at this for weeks, but Garp's training was finally starting to pay off. He was starting to see the Vice Admiral's punches before the man even threw them. He avoided most of them, but Garp always seemed to be able to know that and got in the occasional lucky blow. They didn't hurt as much as they first had, which had to mean one of two things. He was getting stronger or Garp was going easier on all of them.

Eying the miniature craters that littered their current training area, Ace decided that it was the former. Going easy was apparently not in Garp's vocabulary, at all. The brunet ducked around a tree, where Sabo had been lying in wait, and signaled the blond. Sabo nodded then leapt out of his hiding spot, swinging his pipe from overhead in an attempt to catch Garp unaware.

Being that Garp was proficient in Kenbun-shoku Haki he had foreseen the attack, only to merely block it. He also reinforced his forearm with Buso-shoku Haki, which caused the pipe to partially wrap around the limb.

Sabo stared at his pipe in open mouthed horror, while Ace peeked around the tree and covered his own mouth. Somehow Garp still managed to shock and scare them once they'd grown accustomed to certain aspects the Vice Admiral regularly displayed.

Luffy, who'd been hiding up in the branches above, took this as his cue to jump down and perform an attack of his own while everyone else seemed to be distracted by the severely damaged pipe. He coated his fists with Buso-shoku Haki and brought them down on the back of Garp's head. The attack only grazed the Vice Admiral, who shifted forward enough to escape the brunt of Luffy's attempt, and left him open to receive Garp's right elbow to the face. It was also coated in the same Haki.

Luffy was sent flying and crashed into a tree some teen feet away. The impact left a somewhat Luffy-shaped imprint on the tree while the five-year-old gave a groan of pain.

"Looks like we'll have to add Haki to our training," Garp announced with a glint in his eyes, his gaze first lingering on Ace's hiding spot before it shifted over to Luffy. "That means I can finally stop holding back." He finally glanced at Sabo, whose eyes went wide and a new level of terror appeared in his expression.

-CtC-

Months passed, each new day more brutal than the next, and it was finally time for Garp to go back. He had put them through everything imaginable, from weighing them down and tying steaks to them so he could throw them into a ravine of ravenous wolves, to making them fight the monstrous creatures in the forest with even more weights. They even had to survive against him hunting them down at all hours.

They survived, just barely, but the training (torture) the Vice Admiral imparted had paid off. They had a good understanding of Haki in all its forms, and yes that included Hao-shoku Haki, as well as having mastered the Rokushiki techniques in the time spent with Luffy's insane grandfather.

"Now boys," Garp began as he stood at the foot of the gangway to his ship. Some of his crew members were discreetly watching as they busied themselves with various tasks, whether completed or not, by the port railing. Garp ignored this, of course, as he fixed his heavily bandaged grandson and adopted grandsons with a fierce stare. "When you grow up you're going to-"

"Be pirates," Luffy interrupted in a dead panned tone. He returned Garp's state with a flat expression, adding a touch of Hao-Shoku Haki behind his statement.

Garp was able to withstand Luffy's Haki, but only because it was just a slight pressure instead of the full brunt of his will. He frowned as he looked over his grandson, realizing that the boy was serious despite his injured state. "Luffy…" The Haki presence from his grandson targeting him increased until it took everything he had to just stand there. Where had Luffy learned such control? He had only taught them the basics of Kenbun-shoku and Buso-shoku Haki, because Hao-shoku couldn't be taught, only explained. What Luffy was doing went beyond any of the training he'd given them.

"We will be pirates," Luffy repeated in a low tone. He stared at Garp for a moment longer then released his Haki and turned to hobble away. Ace and Sabo quickly followed after him after shooting some rather odd glances in Garp's direction.

They didn't wait to see if Garp had left with the Marines under his command. Ace grabbed Luffy by his unbandaged arm and bodily dragged him to Makino's. Sabo threw away the crutches they had been using as a façade in front of Garp then followed his brothers.

"Did Garp-san leave?" Makino questioned as she came over to help them out of the bandages. She had helped them throughout their training with Garp by wrapping up fake injuries so that they could have some time to actually rest. Sure, she felt bad for fibbing to Garp, but the boys were her priority.

"Hai," Luffy answered, a frown on his face. He said nothing more and patiently waited for Makino to finish removing his bandages while Sabo and Ace helped each other out.

"Is everything okay, Luffy?" Makino found herself frowning, because she was used to Luffy being bright and cheerful.

"We're okay, Makino-san. We're just a little tired." It was Sabo who spoke up, his tone soft.

"Oh, okay." She gave them a worried smile nonetheless and patted Luffy on the shoulder once she was done. "Go and rest for a bit. I'll have lunch ready for you when you all wake back up."

Ace and Sabo added their bandages to the pile Makino had made so that they could all get washed, then took Luffy between them and walked him back to their bedroom. Once they were inside Ace led Luffy over to the bed while Sabo closed the door and locked it.

"C'mon, Luffy. What's bothering you?" Apart from having to use Hao-shoku on Garp, they couldn't think of anything that was wrong.

"We almost got found out by Jii-chan." Luffy's expression was dark now, his hands curling into fists. "I shouldn't have used Haki on him like that, but I didn't want to hear him lecture us on joining the Marines."

Understanding dawned on the two older children and they sat on either side of Luffy to hug him. Having it get out that he was from the future wouldn't bode well for them, and because they also knew… Well, it was their secret to protect too.

"We didn't get found out." Sabo mussed Luffy's hair with an affectionate rub then gave a faint smile.

"And no lecture on joining the Marines." Ace shifted to let Luffy lean against him and hugged him a little tighter. "We're gonna be pirates, and you, little brother, will be Pirate King."

Luffy's expression melted into one of uncertainty and he looked from Sabo to Ace, having to crane his neck to look at the latter. "ASL Pirates?"

"ASL Pirates," Ace and Sabo chimed together, the both of them smiling.

"But we have to recruit Zoro, Usopp, San-" Luffy started to list off all of his Nakama, only for both Ace and Sabo to cover his mouth.

"We'll recruit your Nakama, Luffy, and they can be our Nakama too." Ace pulled his hand back, Sabo doing the same, while a brilliant smile formed on Luffy's face.

"But we have a lot to do before then." Sabo slipped off of the bed and went to his desk, pulling out a tiny journal from the underside. In this journal contained all of what Luffy remembered to happen in the time he had come from, meticulously recorded by the blond. "First we have to meet Shanks."


	6. Akagami no Shanks

East Blue was the weakest of the four Blues. This was a well known fact. Nobody ever argued against this fact, yet here were three boys who shattered that fact at its very core. While only one had been born here in East Blue, the other two had lived here all their lives, so they were as much a resident of East Blue as the blond-haired boy was.

Sabo was the smartest of the three and also the oldest. He reigned the other two in whenever they needed it, not that such a thing was needed often. The blond also seemed to be a brilliant strategist.

Ace… Ace was a perfect blend of Rouge and Roger, with his mother's gentleness and affection for her loved ones and his father's dogged determination in facing down someone who threatened his loved ones, yet he was so very much his own person. It was almost like being with his former Captain all over again, watching how Ace mothered his siblings, and that is exactly what they were.

Finally there was Luffy. Even though he was completely unrelated to Roger by blood, the mere sight of the youngest boy evoked such a strong sense of the late Pirate King that he was certain he carried his Will. It was frightening how naturally he led the young trio wherever they went, and the boys could be found everywhere.

His very first run-in with the young trio had been memorable, in that he and his crew had arrived at Fuusha and had gone straight to the local tavern, where a group of bandits had taken over the dining room and were harassing the barmaid, a slender woman with shoulder length black hair and a patterned kerchief tied over it. She smiled despite the rudeness of her patrons, even if it didn't quite reach her eyes, as she flitted from table to table refilling their drinks.

One of the bandits, a greasy, sallow-faced man, had the audacity to rise from his seat as she went past his table and grabbed her by the waist. The empty mugs on her tray clinked and clattered, but the hand holding it aloft was steady enough that the tray didn't tip over, not even when the bandit boldly grabbed her ass. "C'mon, honey, why don't w-" He was suddenly cut off by an arm wrapping around his throat not once, like a normal human arm, but several times with an elasticity that only rubber had.

_Devil fruit user._

There was no way around that little tidbit. Whoever that elastic arm belonged to was a devil fruit user, and they had spectacular control over their ability given that the bandit hadn't been pulled back towards where the arm came from at the opposite end of the tavern. It would have pulled the barmaid with the bandit, and would have sent her heavy tray of dirty cups crashing to the ground.

"Let Makino-san go," a surprisingly young voice commanded from beside the bandit. A young boy, possibly nine years old, with wavy jet black hair and achingly familiar features had seemingly appeared from thin air. At least that is what it looked like to the bandits.

It was a blink and you would miss it kind of thing, but Shanks had been paying attention and had seen the boy move from the back of the room, where the stretched arm originated from, with a speed that no one in East Blue should be capable of. Vice Admirals and up in the Marines were capable of such speeds, as were a good number of pirates who had made it past the first half of the Grand Line, otherwise known as Paradise. That a mere nine year old boy from East Blue could pull off that speed meant something. And as for who-

"You were warned," a second young voice stated as another boy appeared on the other side of Makino and the bandit. He had short, curly blond hair peeking out from under the top hat he wore, his eyes hidden by the brim. His lips were pressed together into a thin line, with a very slight downward curve at the corners of his mouth to indicate that he was scowling.

It was clear that these children meant business, yet the trapped bandit decided ignore the obvious signs and reached up to tug at the arm firmly wrapped around his throat. It didn't budge, but the two boys on either side of him moved, using precision far beyond their years to hit very specific pressure points that forced the bandit to let go of Makino.

As soon as she was freed Makino expertly twirled away from the bandit and the boys, as though this were an every day occurrence, and calmly proceeded to the back of the tavern house. "Please try to keep the damage to a minimum, boys," she called out as she took the tray of filthy glasses to the back to wash them.

"We'll add the cost of any damages to their tab, Makino-san," the blond boy called out almost jovially, and after a few seconds, almost like an afterthought, he added, "He's all yours, Lu."

The rubbery arm around the bandit's throat tightened and then the bandit was pulled back towards the bar where, standing atop one of the stools, there was a boy that was a few years younger by the look of him, and he looked pissed. As the bandit flew closer to him, the arm unwound from his throat and the boy drew his opposite arm back to unleash an overhand punch and drive the bandit headfirst through the floor.

None of the other bandits had moved by this point, in fact they seem rather cowed, and even when the dust and debris settled they all remained at their tables, frozen. It completely went against what Shanks had seen in regards to any other groups of bandits he and his crew had come across prior. For several heartbeats they sat there, their attention fixated on the boy at the bar. In return the boy looked them over before he finally directed his gaze at Shanks. There was a very minute, blink and you'll miss it look of recognition before a very closed off expression took over the boy's features.

"Makino-san, you have more customers," he called out in a weirdly flat tone, his gaze boring into Shanks'.

"Hai, hai, Luffy. Make some room for them, please," the barmaid called out all too happily from the back of the tavern.

It was at this sudden announcement that all of the bandits scrambled from their tables and practically stampeded out of the tavern, forcing Shanks and his crew to move aside, but not without paying for their respective tabs and, it seemed, the cost of the damages from the rather one-sided fight. The older, dark-haired boy went around collecting the money while the younger one, Luffy, used his devil fruit ability to collect the dishes and send them to the back where Makino was.

"Please excuse the mess and sit wherever you like," the blond boy directed to the Pirates with a vaguely cheeky smile. Without sparing another second of his attention on the Pirates he turned and went over to the still unconscious bandit and easily dragged him out of the hole. He gave the hole a critical once over then nodded to himself and proceeded to unceremoniously drag the bandit out of the front door past the Pirates.

Shanks watched as the boy dumped the bandit in the middle of the road then disappeared off to the right. He wondered just where the boy was going, but it really wasn't that important. "Come on, men, let's help these kids clean up." He moved further into the tavern, his crew following after without question.

"Oh no, we insist that you gentlemen take a seat," Makino said as she reappeared from the back of the tavern, holding up a tray of fresh mugs filled to the brim with beer. She made her way around the cleaned up tables and began setting them down, at which the pirate crew needed no further prompting. She smiled brightly when they sat down, her beaming gaze coming to rest on Shanks who was the last one left standing.

"Well since you insist, Makino-san," Shanks replied with a weak smile and walked up to the bar where the curiosity that was Luffy was now sitting down at. "Mind if I sit here, kid?" He motioned to the stool next to the one the boy occupied, his smile growing when Luffy glanced at him. "That was a pretty impressive punch you used back there."

Luffy's closed off expression wavered into a small grin, happiness sparking in his eyes at the mention of his punch being impressive. "You think so?"

Shanks took this as an invite to sit next to Luffy and gave the boy his undivided attention. The punch had been pretty impressive, the control of it coupled with Luffy's devil fruit ability piquing his interest. "I think it was cool, especially with how you used your devil fruit ability. You handled that situation pretty well."

Luffy's expression shut back down immediately at the mention of his devil fruit power and he shuffled a bit on his stool as he looked away from Shanks. He looked like he was going to say something but stopped himself when the older brunet appeared on his other side.

"Help me count the money for Makino-san, Luffy." The older boy looked remarkably familiar for reasons that Shanks didn't understand at the time, but his intervention seemed to be welcomed on Luffy's end.

"Okay, Ace." Luffy's mood seemed to lift immediately with Ace's presence, a much more genuine smile blossoming on his face as he looked to who Shanks assumed to be his brother.

"I'll leave you boys be," Shanks said as he started to get up, only to be stopped when Luffy's hand shot out to grab the edge of his sleeve. Without even looking in his direction.

"Actually, Pirate-san, could you tell us about your adventures?" Luffy asked as he turned back to Shanks, letting go of his sleeve.

Shanks glanced at Ace over Luffy's head, the older boy eyeing him with a slight smile, then back at Luffy. "Absolutely, but call me Shanks," he exclaimed with an enthusiastic grin.

-CtC-

"Man, Lu, I thought you would have been more excited to see Shanks again," Ace commented as he flopped down onto the bed they shared despite Makino's insistence that they all have their own beds. That had ended up with them pushing all three of the beds together to make a ridiculously larger bed in the center of their room. It had been a logistical nightmare to organize at first, but Sabo had made it work out in the end.

"I feel like I let him down," Luffy muttered into his pillow, which resulted in Ace smacking the back of his head.

"You're not back there anymore, baka, and you will save your Nakama when the time comes." Ace curled up next to him and slung an arm around his middle, dragging Luffy closer to him.

"We will save them," Sabo corrected as he finished filling out their latest excursions in the journal he kept for them. He set the book aside so that the ink could dry then joined his brothers on the bed.

Luffy smiled as Sabo occupied the space behind him and joined Ace in draping an arm over him. They always seemed to know just what he needed most, and Ace seemed especially attuned to his emotions. "You guys are the best," he whispered with tears forming.

"And you're the best little brother either of us could have hoped for," Ace said in a low, soft tone, to which Sabo nodded. "Now go to sleep, Lu. Tomorrow is a new day."

Luffy rubbed the tears from his eyes and turned onto his side to face Ace. "Goodnight, Ace-nii-chan, Sabo-nii-chan." He tucked his head under Ace's chin and closed his eyes. Within minutes he was asleep, something that no longer surprised the older two boys.

"You know, Ace, you should ask Shanks about your dad," Sabo whispered, not so much because he was afraid of waking Luffy, but because the subject was quite touchy with Ace.

Ace frowned at the suggestion instead of his normal reaction which was to explode with anger. He studied Sabo for several long moments, mulling over the thought of asking Shanks about his dad. "Everything I've heard about him up till now has been about how terrible he was, how much everyone hated him and that I shouldn't have been born."

Sabo remained silent as Ace spoke, as this was something that his friend and brother hadn't willingly spoken of before. With all of the points that he had brought up it made sense as to why he reacted the way he did whenever Roger was brought up. It had all changed when Luffy had forced his way into their lives. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I think I need to," Ace admitted with a little hesitation. "It might not change how I feel about him, but then at least I'll have a better idea of who he was."

"You'll still be you, Ace," Sabo replied confidently, because like Ace and Luffy not caring about him being a noble, Ace's parentage didn't matter either. "Our brother."

A warm smile broke out on Ace's face and he nudged Sabo's arm with his own in a silent thank you. Luffy stirred slightly at the action only to snuggle closer to Ace and settled back into sleep instantly. "We should go to sleep too."

"Yeah…. G'night, Ace. You too, Luffy." A small grin formed on Sabo's face and he shifted closer to Luffy once more, closing the slight gap the sleeping boy had made. The blond closed his eyes with a happy sigh and laid there listening to their breathing. Ace's evened out and synced with Luffy's in a matter of minutes, the soothing and rhythmic sound lulling him to sleep.

-CtC-

Shanks had been puttering around his cabin on the Red Force for the better part of the morning, the boys from the tavern on his mind. As far as he had been aware, they had all been born in East Blue, yet their fighting capabilities were on par with someone who had been through Paradise. They were only children!

Children did not run bandits out of taverns. They did not have fighting capabilities on par with pirates and marines of Paradise. They most certainly weren't standing in front of him without him having noticed them come in.

"Ne, Shanks, we were wondering if you could tell us about the Pirate King," the one called Luffy said without it even sounding like a question. He stood in front of his brothers, rather he was placed more directly in front of Ace and his expression was once again unreadable. Was this a test of some sort?

Whatever this was, Shanks knew it had to at least be important so he was going to bite. "Well, first off, Gold Roger was my Captain," he started slowly, using the accursed false name the World Government had taken to calling him so that the world would remain unaware that he was a D.

"Gol D. Roger," the boy behind Luffy started suddenly and moved from behind the protective rubber boy. "His name was Gol D. Roger."

In that instant Shanks had something of an epiphany, a spark of realization flashing through his expression as the three boys basically stared him down. Their asking of Roger was for a very personal reason, and he was almost certain that he could guess as to what that was. "Yes, yes it is," he mumbled out of shock. "Are you…?"

Ace shifted uncomfortably at the unfinished question and gave a very faint nod. "I'm his son, Ace."

The smile that split Shanks' face was genuine and it did not go unnoticed by him that Luffy gave a small smile of his own. Likewise the tension that seemed to permeate through the room vanished and he gestured for the boys to come sit. "As I was saying, Roger was my Captain and as fearsome as everyone claimed him to be, he cared for his crew a great deal."

-CtC-

Shanks smiled fondly at the hat in his hand as he stood on the dock where the Red Force was moored. Several of his crew members were milling about the dock, transferring the crates of supplies they would need to kick off the next leg of their journey onto the deck and finally into the hold. He looked up at the pattering of three sets of tiny feet on the dock and grinned when he saw it was the boys coming to see him off. They had changed so much in that short year, Luffy the most of all.

"Ne, Shanks, I wish you would at least come back and visit," the youngest of the three whined slightly and launched himself at Shanks' legs.

"Kid, I'd give up my arm for you," he patted Luffy's hair, not failing to notice that the boy had stiffened at that sentence. He didn't dare press for an answer, and instead placed the hat on Luffy's head with a gentler smile. "But I'll give you this instead." A brief glance at Sabo and Ace, who had held back a few feet away, revealed that they were both smiling. "Roger would have wanted you to have it."

Luffy looked stunned as he pulled away from Shanks, and he hesitantly reached up to clutch at the brim of the old straw hat with tears forming in his eyes. "I…. Thank you, Shanks! I'll keep it safe." _Even if he didn't deserve to wear this hat again._

"And we'll take care of Luffy," Ace added and came up behind his brother to draw him into a one-armed hug.

"With those devil fruits you snatched from under my nose last month?" Shanks' tone was one of amusement as he eyed the boys, making both Sabo and Ace fidget uncomfortably. Luffy, however, just wiped his unfallen tears away and gave him a cheeky grin. "I'm not mad, neither is my crew. We all know you three are more than capable of handling yourselves. Just don't terrorize the villagers."

"Eh, we have better things to do than to terrorize Fuusha," Luffy stated with a peculiar smile.

"Should I be worried about anything you three have planned?" Shanks asked half-heartedly.

"Well storming Enies Lobby, breaking into and out of Impel Down and invading Marineford is a long ways off, so no, not really," Sabo said with a completely straight face.

"Uh…" Shanks honestly did not know what to say to that, and where had the boys even heard of those places? He glanced at each of them, noting that Ace and Luffy also had serious expressions fixed in place. The silence that followed was heavy, but it didn't last as Luffy broke out into a fit of giggles. The atmosphere immediately relaxed and the red-haired pirate realized that he had been had as Sabo and Ace grinned.

"Our Gramps is a Vice Admiral," Ace explained nonchalantly, his grin widening. "Garp the Fist."

"He's due back for another visit too, so you guys should leave soon." Luffy adjusted the old straw on his head, tipping it back so that his face wasn't obscured by the shadow it cast, and gave Shanks a warm smile. "We'll meet again on the seas, right Shanks?"

He really didn't want to process what he was being told, even though it changed nothing. He knew very well who Garp was, and he was making connections that would never be revealed to the world. A Marine had risked life and limb for the son of Gol D. Roger, and not just any Marine. Garp the Fist was a legend, even now. The man also had a heart, evidenced by the fact that Ace was here, hidden away from the world and those that would seek to harm him.

"Yeah, we will. I look forward to the day we meet again and seeing how much stronger all three of you have grown." Shanks gave them a broad grin, the thought that they would do anything dangerous pushed out of his mind. They were all kids, as far as he was aware, and credited what Sabo had said as simply that, a kid saying something they didn't mean. With a wave he turned and walked up the gangplank onto the Red Force, not even realizing just how wrong he was.


End file.
